Gluten Free Mexican Lasagna

 

Here is a great fusion dish, merging classic Italian and Mexican dishes. It is Lasagna, it is Enchiladas, it is the best of both worlds. 

Ingredients:

2 Cups Red Chile Pods

28 oz Crushed Tomatoes 

12 oz Crema Mexicana 

12 oz Mozzarella Cheese 

~12 Yellow Corn Tortillas (you can use slightly more or less depending on your preference)

3/4 lb. Ground Beef

2 Medium Zucchini 

1 Large Bell Pepper

1/2 Large Yellow Onion 

1 Bunch Fresh Parsley 

3 Tbs. Butter  

1 Box Gluten Free Lasagna Noodles (we used Barilla brand)  

Assorted Spices: Oregano, Thyme, Cumin, Salt, Black Pepper, and White Pepper. 

 

First things first: the sauce. 

1. Boil approximately 2 cups of water. Boil extra water for rainy days. 
2. In a large bowl, remove the seeds and stems from your dried chile pods. 
3. Wash pods in cold water. 
4. In your blender, or a large bowl, pour hot water onto the pods. Let steep for at least 30 minutes. 
5. Now add your spices to your soaked pods. We used 1 tbs. of dried oregano and 1 tsp. of thyme, cumin, salt, and 2 tsp. of pepper. 
6. Now, using whatever is most convenient for you, blend well. As shown we are poor and used a normal run-of-the-mill blender. Puree until uniform in consistency.
7. Now strain any leftover stems and seeds. Here use a fork or spoon to move the pulp around, leaving a beautiful, smooth red chile sauce. 
8. Add your crushed tomatoes and chile sauce into a medium sized sauce pan; simmer uncovered for around 25 minutes.  
9. Now is a great time to pre-heat your oven to 425 F. 

 Meat Time (and zucchini I guess).

1. Dice up half of your onion and a whole bell pepper. Slice your zucchini into medallions. 
2. In a large skillet or pan, add a tablespoon of butter and allow to melt. 
3. Next add your chopped onion, and sautee until it begins to caramelize, stirring occasionally. 
4. Now that your onions are starting to brown, add your bell pepper and sweat. Stir frequently for around 2 minutes. 
5. Add your ground beef and brown thoroughly. Here add seasonings: salt, black pepper, and white pepper. 
6. Carefully, I daresay gently, pour the meat and vegetables into your chile sauce. Stir well and continue to simmer. 
7. In either a separate skillet or the one used for the meat, melt 1 tbs. butter and allow to melt. Add your sliced zucchini. Sautee well on one side, developing a deep, rich brown color. Flip once and set aside for later. 

Crema. 

1. Now get your fillings all nice and ready. Chop a large amount of parsley.
2. In a large bowl add 12 oz Crema Mexicana; 3 tsp. black pepper, salt, oregano, dried basil; and 3 tbs. fresh chopped parsley and mix well. 
3. Go ahead and turn off your chile sauce, making sure it is still hot when used. 
4. Please note we did this in smaller batches and made more as we needed it. 

Lasagnas are like ogres. Lasagnas have layers, ogres have layers.

1. Grease your baking dish with 1 tbs. of butter. 
2. Ladle a generous amount of chile sauce, and cover the bottom of the baking dish evenly. 
3. Now add your lasagna noodles, in our case 4 lasagna noodles. 
4. Spread your Crema evenly across your noodles.
5. Now cover the Crema with chile sauce, again making sure to evenly coat the noodles.
6. Cover with mozzarella. 
7. Now begin your tortilla layer. 
8. Using 6 corn tortillas, place over the cheese layer. 
9. Spread Crema, and then spread the chile sauce over your Crema. 
10. Cover with cheese. Remember to coat evenly! 
11. Now add your zucchini layer.  
12. Cover the sliced zucchinis with lasagna noodles, and repeat as above. 
13. Complete another tortilla layer. 
14. For your top layer, add any remaining sauce, and cover with cheese. 
15. Cover the baking dish with foil, and bake according to directions on the lasagna box. 
16. 10 minutes before your time is up, remove foil, and bake uncovered. 
17. Remove from the oven, slice, and serve. 

    In Summary, this recipe was a solid 8. A ton of prep work, but very little difficult cooking. In our opinion, to take this recipe from an 8 to a 10, we would swap out the Crema for a more traditional Ricotta, and swap the Mozzarella for Asadero cheese.  The Crema was nice, but was either overpowered by the chile sauce, or it was too neutral to begin with. Neither one of us would complain about eating this spicy Italian dish with a Southwestern flair again.